Class Act: Elizana Joseph

Binghamton High School

Elizana Joseph, left, receives a community service award from Sen. Thomas W. Libous

Elizana Joseph may be the next Dr. Sanjay Gupta. The 17-year-old wants to be a medical news correspondent similar to the neurosurgeon featured on CNN, although she's looking at a specialization in plastic surgery. The daughter of Haitian immigrants, she's heavily involved in community service, including the National Honor Society's community Thanksgiving dinner, the Relay for Life cancer survivors dinner, holiday caroling at Lourdes Hospital and multiple activities at the Jewish Community Center and St. John & Andrew Church. She's also involved in Dollars for Scholars, Math Honor Society, several choruses and choirs, is captain of the varsity swim team, and had leading roles in the last two spring musicals. And in addition to all that, she's a full International Baccalaureate student. Elizana has a younger brother and sister, and is the daughter of Merlin and Debbie Joseph.

I hear you do a lot of volunteer work. Tell me about that.

I go to the JCC, not far from my house; I typically read to kids and do different arts and crafts programs with them. I used to work there over the summer. I often help out during the Jewish holidays. I also help coordinate crafts at my church, St. John and Andrew. I'm a part of the youth group. We have a contemporary band I sing in. Through the National Honor Society, we do the annual Thanksgiving dinner. There are different Dollars for Scholars events, and the cancer survivors' dinner is in June.

What inspires you to do all this?

I just have a really great feeling when I give back to others. I'm from a family of Haitian immigrants. I hear the stories of my father and relatives when they came here. I'm very fortunate and I want to give back to others.

Have you ever been to Haiti?

No, unfortunately. The first time we were supposed to go as a family, in 2010, we bought our tickets five days before the earthquake. I've never been there, but I'm asking my parents to go as a graduation present. I want to see where my family comes from and see my grandmother's house. She comes in the summer to visit.

You recently won a community service award, right?

The Sen. Thomas Libous Award. That was this year, about two weeks ago. That felt really exciting, to see so many other peers receive awards. There was one student from each school in Sen. Tom Libous' district. It brought it into perspective. There are so many kids taking part in community service.

How do you make time for everything?

Time management is a skill I am still not perfect at. Many times, things run together and conflict because I value education and the arts and the different athletic competitions. I enjoy them so much and they're a big part of who I am.

Where are you going to college?

The University of Rochester. I absolutely love it there. They have a flexible curriculum. I aspire to be a medical news correspondent. I could stay there to pursue my medical degree. I could pursue both a major in biology and communication in an area that's holistic for learning. They also have a school of fine arts, so I can continue to sing and get credit for it. They accept IB courses, which is wonderful.

Why a medical news correspondent?

I think some of my experiences in the past have influenced me. Talking in front of people, I enjoy that. You can never know too much. For the medical aspect, my uncle is a doctor. He does a medical mission trip to Haiti twice a year. If he could do that all the time, he would. And my best friend in third grade died of cancer.

What medical field interests you?

I'd like to go into reconstructive plastic surgery. I'd like to give burn victims a chance to heal. You see a little kid, they should be able to smile.

Anything you'd like to add?

I think I've gotten a lot out of my high school experience here at Binghamton High School. We have so many different opportunities.

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Class Act: Elizana Joseph

Elizana Joseph may be the next Dr. Sanjay Gupta. The 17-year-old wants to be a medical news correspondent similar to the neurosurgeon featured on CNN, although she's looking at a specialization in